Climate Action

UN Commends Beijing Air Quality as Model for Other Cities

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – More than two decades after China's capital city Beijing began looking for ways to improve air quality in one of the largest and fastest growing cities in the developing world, its successful efforts provide a model for other cities to follow, according to a new report.

Research by the UN Environment Programme and the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau (BEE) outlines how Beijing’s air quality management programme has evolved, and makes recommendations for near, medium, and long-term steps that Beijing can take to maintain its momentum toward clean air.

"This improvement in air quality didn’t happen by accident. It was the result of an enormous investment of time, resources and political will," said Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director of UN Environment Programme. "Understanding Beijing's air pollution story is crucial for any nation, district or municipality that wishes to follow a similar path."

He Kebin, the principal author of the report and Dean of Tsinghua University's School of Environment, said Beijing progressed between 1998 to 2013, but that there were even more significant improvements under Beijing’s Clean Air Action Plan 2013–2017.

In 1998, air pollution in the Chinese capital city was dominated by coal-combustion and motor vehicles. Major pollutants exceeded national limits. By 2013 levels had fallen and some pollutants, like carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxides, met national standards.

In 2013 Beijing adopted more systematic and intensive measures. By the end of 2017 fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) had fallen by 35 per cent and by 25 per cent in the surrounding Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Much of this reduction came from measures to control coal-fired boilers, provide cleaner domestic fuels, and industrial restructuring.

Beijing's air quality management system is supported by monitoring and evaluation, pollution source apportionment and emission inventories. It also contains comprehensive legal standards and strict environmental law enforcement. Air quality work is supported by economic policies, public participation, and coordination on air pollution prevention and control in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Yu Jianhua, Deputy Head of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, said that while much has been achieved, more can be done.

"At present, the PM2.5 concentration in Beijing still fails to meet national ambient air quality standards and far exceeds the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and heavy pollution episodes still occur during autumn and winter," he said.

"Solving all these air quality issues will be a long-term process. We are willing to share our long-accumulated knowledge and wealth of experience on air pollution with other cities in developing countries."

Liu Jian, UN Environment’s Chief Scientist, said the results reflected the Chinese Government's emphasis on environmental protection and the input and intensity of pollution control in recent years

"Beijing’s efforts, achievements, experiences and lessons in air pollution control over the last twenty years are worth analyzing and sharing in order to progress global environmental governance," he said.

Dechen Tsering, Director of UN Environment’s Asia Pacific Regional Office, said the UN Environment Programme was committed to promoting sustainable development and best practices in countries and cities around the world.

"Beijing has achieved impressive air quality improvements in a short amount of time," she said. "It is a good example of how a large city in a developing country can balance environmental protection and economic growth," Tsering added. [IDN-InDepthNews – 11 March 2019]

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